Autumn's Chicken Alfredo Pizza

I've had this other pizza crust sitting around for awhile now and I needed to use it.  Tried to muster up the energy on Friday to do it. Fail.  Tried again on Saturday.  Fail.  Finally, today I managed to get it done.

It's simple and so good.

Ingredients:
1 ultra thin pizza crust, preferably wheat or whole grain--(I used regular this time b/c its what I had left from when I bought crust at WM to make my sausage and onion pizza a few weeks ago.  When I bought the crusts back then, WM was out of the whole wheat ultra thin crusts) Boo.
3/4 cup light Alfredo sauce
1 1/2 cups Tyson fully cooked grilled chicken
1 cup Italian blend shredded cheese
1 cup chopped red (it's so purple, but I digress) onion
olive oil cooking spray
Salt, Pepper,  Garlic Powder (S, P, GP)

Start by heating two skillets over medium heat.  Meanwhile, chop onion. Spray each skillet with olive oil cooking spray. Saute the onions in one skillet and brown the chicken in the other...

While that's happening, pre-heat your oven to 350.  Spray the crust with olive oil cooking spray and then sprinkle it with S, P, and GP.  Bake it in the oven for 9-10 minutes, or until it is golden brown and crisp.

Let the crust rest, just about 5 minutes.  Then, spread the 3/4 cup light Alfredo sauce over it...

Then, top with about 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese, then the onion....

Then, cut up the chicken into small pieces (by this time it should be done heating thru and browning, lol).  Add the chicken and the rest of the shredded cheese to the pizza...

Put it in the oven, on the middle to lower rack, and bake for 20 minutes.  Turn the oven off and turn the broiler on HI.  Leave the pizza on the middle to lower rack for one minute under the broiler and then move it to the top rack for one minute under the broiler to get the cheese all golden and bubbly....but keep a close eye on it during this process!

Yummy in my tummy....and my sister's tummy too. LOL

I had 2 slices for lunch earlier, around noon-ish, and just had two more slices for an afternoon snack/dinner (at 4:15). My sis took care of the rest of it. :-)  Slowly, but surely my appetite is coming back. I think I need to focus more on getting some liquids and protein in....cuz frankly...I haven't been doing that great with those two things since I've been sick...at all.  

Nommy-nom-nom.  Cheesy, chicken-y goodness. :-) 

Ah, pizza...a yummy treat anyone can have every now and then; even when trying to lose weight and/or maintain weight loss.  :-)

Hope you like it.

Till next time...

Lots of love,
Autumn

Battling a virus cold, eating & exercise,...and weighing in!

I hate to start off in a blah state, but....well, blah.  I've been battling this awful virus/cold since Thursday morning.  Really, it hasn't been a battle...the cold is kickin my you know what.  I was fine when I went to bed Wednesday night, but when I woke up Thursday morning, I felt like I had been hit by a freight train...at least twice.  Everything on my body ached.  I had a fever, sore throat, cough, head ache, and hot flashes like something from a horror movie.  It's been that way since.  All day Thursday, Friday, Sat, and so far today.

Today, I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I still feel like poo.  My head is pounding, my throat hurts, and I am just wiped out.  The chest congestion is starting to break up, but it hurts like a mo-fo when I cough. Ugh.  I've been up since 9am; it's now almost 3pm and I've managed to make a pizza (that I will show you in the next post), pay a few bills online, pick up a few things, and type this blog post. I am moving slow and between each move, I have to take a break b/c I get exhausted.  My sister is here doing her laundry and I finally was able to get her to help me clean my house.  She even washed the dishes for me. :-)  That really helps me, b/c there is no way I could've stood over the sink long enough to wash them (I don't have a dishwasher...<<tear>>).  Thanks, butt head.  Eh-hum, I mean Cortney. 

So, being sick has made me CRAVE carbs like CRAZY.  Well, I forgot to mention that aside from being sick, it is that t.o.m. for me and well those two together and given me a hard time this week.  I have just wanted to eat crap, junk, more crap, and more junk.  Processed carbs, specifically french fries, have been screaming at me...."just eat me Autumn; you're sick so you have an excuse".  Seriously.  Damn food demons.  Everytime those voices start to tell me that just one order of fries from Wendy's or McDonalds or where ever wont hurt me, I allow the common sense in me to kick in and remind myself that one trip is a trigger and leads to a downward-out-of-control-spiral in the wrong direction.  One order of fries today becomes another order tomorrow and another order the next day with a burger or some other not-so-great-choice; then I keep going back to that drive thru day after day or week after week, everytime saying..."this one time wont hurt me", trying to convince myself that it wouldn't.  Well, now I know that it will.  I have learned that one trip thru the drive-thru making a poor choice like greasy french fries (b/c there are SOME things we can eat post WLS from a drive thru that aren't completely horrible) will trigger me to keep doing it over and over and over.  It's a slippery slope and I just don't want to go back down it...

I have managed to ward of the french fry demons this week, but have had some things I wouldn't have usually eaten if I wasn't sick.  I ate a lean pocket for lunch and one for dinner the other day.  The next day I had a lean cuisine chicken club panini for lunch....and I've had my fair share of crackers over the past few days.  Something about eating crackers when I'm sick that is comforting...I dunno what it is.  So, I have definitely had some processed carbs, but I feel okay about eating them because they were a better choice than greasy french fries.  So, this morning...I woke up STILL wanting them damn fries.  Ergh!   The only thing I could think of that would get my mind off those damned fries was to weigh myself.  But, I had conflict.  Two of em to be exact.  1...like I said earlier....it's that t.o.m for me and ladies we all know what that means for us and the scale.  Water weight is a biatch and can cause unnecessary emotional and mental torment to ourselves!  2....I committed to NOT weighing outside of my committed monthly weigh in on the 8th of each month. 

What to do?  I decided to weigh in anyway...Rebel, I know! I wanted to see how much progress I've made.  Before weighing, I knew I have lost weight b/c I can feel it and I can see it... (funny how I can tell the difference of a few pounds these days---that is something I could never tell when I was morbidly obese). 

So, I got on the scale and...wait for it... the number read...236.4!!!!!   That is a total loss of:

• 14.4 lbs since December 26th
• 8.6 lbs since January 8th
• 175.6 lbs since surgery
• 3.4 lbs away from being back to my lowest weight since surgery (which was 233lbs in August 2010)!!

Although I have been being really good since December regarding my food choices, I have to credit a big chunk of this to ZUMBA.  It is seriously the best workout there is!  I love it!! Did I tell you that I am registered to complete the training to become a CERTIFIED ZUMBA INSTRUCTOR?!?!?!  YES'SIR I AM!!!  CANT WAIT FOR THAT!  

So, anyway, I was so excited about seeing that number that it gave me all the courage I needed to stay away from any french fries! 

SAY NO TO THE FRIES PEOPLE...

They arent worth it!!!

Yay!  Side note:  After I weighed in, I realized that I was supposed to weigh-in today for the start of a self-change project I am doing for school.  In this project, we have to change one of our behaviors to accomplish a goal.  The behavior I am changing is counting calories.  I HATE it with a passion, but I need to do to determine if I am eating enough calories (I recently learned that this may be the reason I havent been able to lose weight over the past year--I am not taking in enough calories and I am not eating often enough through out the day and my body is holding on to everything it gets--all this as it is still going thru the "WTF just happened to me" proccess and adjusting to losing so much weight in such a short period of time).  Aside from that, I need to count calories to continue losing and I need it to be a habit by the time I get to maintenance.  I am using www.fitnesspal.com to track and so far, it hasn't been too bad.  I am gathering a baseline and then I am gonna go talk to my nut to see where I should be calorie wise. 

Moving on...since I've been sick, I haven't done any exercise...unless you count laying on the couch...or walking from the couch to my bed.  Then, in that case, I've done tons of it...LOL.  So, I know when I get back to normal it will take me a minute to get back up to speed, but I will get there.  I am excited to keep going and see how much more progress I can make.  :-)

Coming up next...I'm gonna show you the Chicken Alfredo Pizza I made this morning...

Lots of Love,
Autumn

PS--It has taken me 2 hours to do this post...blah, ugh, ergh, brrrnt. Ready to feel better anytime now...be patient with me as I do the Chicken Alfredo Pizza post...it's coming, I promise.

PSS--I hope there arent too many typos...I've tried to go thru and check/fix them, but I'm so done....bare with me if there are some screw ups in this one...or any of them for that matter (as I know there are).  :-)

A bit of this, a bit of that...and an AMAZING WOW moment!!!

Where to start? Hmmm...?


Well, first...I've got lots of recipes that I want to make and share with you all.  Some of my own, some that I have gotten from other bloggers, and one that I got from my Zumba instructor!!!  I just found one on Pam's blog http://www.pamtremble.blogspot.com/ that reminds me of a childhood classic that my momma made all of the time....my mom simply called it hamburger, macaroni, and tomatoes (betcha cant guess what's in her version, lol).  Pam calls hers One Pot Dinner.  Its the same idea, but has more veggies and protein in it.  I've been wanting to make my momma's recipe for a while now, but was kinda hesitant becuase of the carbs in the pasta. Not that I am a carb-o-phobe or anything, but just didnt seem like a good ratio the way my momma made it.  Pam's version seems like a fair compromise with all of the added veggies and protein and her recipe uses much less of the pasta than my moms does!! Thanks for that recipe Pam!!!


During the week, I am so busy, I dont always have time to cook. I have a lot going on these days...school, practicum, two jobs, keeping up with my house, my dogs and cat, my exercise and eating routines, etc....I am gone most days from about 7:30am until about 8:30 or 9:00pm. So, a lot of my cooking gets done on the weekends.  Hence the reason that I dont post as often during the week as I do on weekends! ;-)  Right now, I have tons of stuff I need to eat before I go gettin too much else.  I want (and need) to eat stuff from my freezer, fridge, and pantry before I go on another grocery run.  So, my new recipe blogs might be less frequent for the next couple of weeks...maybe.  LOL.


Tonight at Zumba class, my instructor asked for 3 volunteers to come up to the stage with her.  At first, I was like....nu-uh, no way, but I decided to do it.  I am SO glad I did.  I surprised myself at how COMFORTABLE I was on that stage.  I thought I would be so self-conscious, but I wasnt, not one single ounce of me was!!  I've already thought about becoming an instructor one day, but I havent told anyone about it, because until tonight, it was just a thought...But Gena B getting me on that stage made it official~! It was so much fun!  After class she texted me and said I did a great job. I texted her back and told her how much I loved it and that she just helped me confirm my private thoughts about becoming an instructor one day...Then, she texted me back with a message that gave me chills!  She said that it was funny that I told her that b/c she just told her hubby last night that she could see the instructor in me!!!!  How awesome is that?!?!?!   I am SO super excited about that.


Now, for the highlight of my day...of my journey thus far, and of my life!! 
I went to lunch today with a couple of my bestest friends ever from work.  We went to Jimmy John's and I had a ham and provolone unwhich with dijon mustard (no mayo) and a pickle.  It was yummy!  When we got back to work there was a pair of black dress slacks on my chair.  I have no idea who gave them to me...but I must find out so I can thank them.  They are a size 12 (yes, TWELVE) tall.  I looked at them and thought, "yeah right, those are never going to fit me", but I appreciated the gift and it gave me motivation to keep working hard so that I can fit into them.  I stuffed them in my bag and forgot about them.  Then, I was in the middle of typing my second paragraph to this entry and suddenly, they popped into my head again!  I pulled them out and again thought, "no way, these are never gonna fit"..., BUT something told me, just try them and see how close you are to getting into them.  So, I did....!  AND THEY FIT!!!  I got them on and buttoned and zipped and everything!  Totally had to do the "lay-flat-on-the-bed-and-squeeeze" method, but they were ON and I was COMFORTABLE in them!  After the initial shock wore off, I found myself in tears.  I can not believe I just put on a size 12.  NEVER in my life have I been a size 12.  I have never even known what a 12 looked like.   After the initial shock wore off, I cried. I kept talking to myself (literally talking out loud to myself) "this can not be real" and "oh my god, I cant believe this".  I had to walk away from the mirror and go back, several times.  It's still sinking in...and I think this is going to take a while to really hit me.  I texted some of my friends and family to share the moment and I drove to my sisters house so that she can take pictures for me! This, by FAR is the most incredible WOW moment I have had yet.  There are no words to explain this feeling.  I am the fat girl, I always have been...and I just put on a size 12 for the first time in my life!!!!!  :-)  So, EFF you obesity!  I am on my way to kickin your FAT obesity ass and I LOVE it~!!!  This moment is AMAZING.  There isnt much in this life that can render me speechless, but this absolutely did.  :-)  I am so happy right now.


I knew I had to capture this moment.  I could not let this moment pass by me with having it documented. I knew I needed and wanted to have pictures so that I can look back and remember this moment and the feelings I have had with it. So, like I said above, I got dressed and drove to my sister's down the street and had her take pictures for me....I would love to share a few with you all...

EXTREMELY HAPPY AUTUMN!

My sister HATES it when I have her take pics...it takes MANY shots before I find some I am happy with...this time, she took almost 40 pictures!  Hahaha!  Thanks, sis!


To everyone who has had a part in helping me in this journey, THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU!!!  Right now, I am in awe of this journey and I am feeling a feeling I have never, ever, ever felt. 


I think that's all for now.  I am on Cloud 9 right now and cant think of anything else, lol~!


So, till next time....


Lots of Love,
Autumn

Shelly's Orange Vanilla Banana Protein Smoothie

Yep, another one of Shelly's creations pleasin' my pouch today!  This time I made her Orange Vanilla Banana Protein Smoothie. 

Her ingredients list:
Shelly's Orange Vanilla Banana Protein Shake
1 cup Vanilla Soy Milk (or Regular Milk)
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Orange Torani Syrup or 1 tbsp SF orange jello powder
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Vanilla Torani Syrup (I used Davinci syrups for this one---works just the same)
1/2 a Banana
2-3 cubes of Ice
For my smoothie, I added 1 tbsp of SF banana syrup and I went with the SF orange jello powder b/c I don't have any of the orange syrup (for now that is....it's on the list after this one!).

Put it all in the blender and whiz away until it's smooth.

The color is so vibrant, isnt it?

Put it in a mug, top with some whippage and enjoy!

Hope you like it!!

Till next time...

Lots of love,

Autumn

Shelly's Peach Melba Protein Smoothie....w/ a slight Autumn twist. :-)

Eggface.  That lady is an uber-genius.  Her blog is LOADED with ooooooodles of amazing recipes.   She knows her stuff.  I just whipped up one of her protein shakes, the peach melba and O-EM-FREAKIN-JEEEEEBUZ, it is beyond good people.  Seriously, it tastes like peach frozen yogurt!!!!  I dont care how you look at it, you CAN NOT go wrong with that!!!!  A protein smoothie that tastes like peach frozen yogurt?!?!?!  WIN!  Yesssssir!

Here's Shelly's ingredient list:

Shelly's Peach Melba Protein Shake
1 cup Vanilla Soy Milk (or Regular Milk)
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Raspberry Torani Syrup
1/4 cup Peaches (fresh, frozen, canned)
2-3 cubes of Ice

I added:
3 packets of no calorie sweetener
1 tbsp of SF peach jello powder (which is basically one small package of the powder)

Oh, and since I used frozen peaches, I skipped the ice...

Put it all into your blender and whiz in blender till smooth...early post-ops remember to let it sit for a LONG time before you drink it if you use the blender.  My support group leader Deb suggests to our newbees to make their protein shakes the night before and allow them to sit over night in the fridge....IF you have to use the blender for it, that is...  Why is this?  Well, you see, the blender creates air in the shake....LOTS of foamy air....and well, frankly that air and your pouch...not really great friends, those two. Eh-uh. nope. Not exactly...

Pour it into a cute-n-fancy glass, top with whippage and enjoy every last sip of it...!!!!

DELISH!

Thank you, Eggface, for such an amazingly yummy recipe!

Everyone, you MUST try this one!

Till next time...

Lots of love,

Autumn

Taco night~!

For the past week or so I've had a craving for Mexican.  I thought about makin my chicken enchiladas again, but wanted something beefy.  So, I decided to stop at the store tonight to pick up a few things to make tacos.

Nuttin too special about this recipe, just the basic taco ingredients.  I am sure you all have your fave taco recipes, but I'll share mine---just for the fun of it.  :-)

Ingredients:
1 lb extra lean hamburger (I use 93/7)
cooking spray
taco seasoning (as much or as little as you want)
mission low carb wheat tortilla(s) (my first time trying these and they are GOOD ya'll)
whole grain crunchy taco shell(s)
fat free re-fried beans
shredded lettuce
diced tomatoes
light sour cream (I upgraded from fat free to light because I have to eat MORE calories in a day now b/c apparently I am not eating enough to lose weight...crazy, I know...and the thought of eating more scares the SHIT outta me, but all thats comin in a separate post coming soon....wait, where was I?  Oh, now back to the tacos)...
shredded cheese
taco sauce

Sumthin always misses the pic....this time it was the taco seasoning & the cookin spray...! Geesh!

but you get the idea....right?  LOL

Spray skillet with cooking spray.  Brown hamburger.  As it's cooking add bits of the taco seasoning and stir it in.  Keep doing that thru the whole meat cooking process...I find that when you cook the taco seasoning into the meat as its cooking, instead of waiting to put it all in once the meat is done, you get a deeper taco flavor in the meat~!  Once the meat is fully cooked add the remaining taco seasoning and stir it in and cook for another 5-7 minutes on low heat.  I do not add any water to my taco meat even tho the seasoning mix says too...again, more taco flavor in the meat this way.  When the meat is done, it'll look a lil sumthin like this...

Assembly:  Anyone know the double decker taco at Taco Bell?  Yes...?  Okay.  Pre-op that was one of my faves from the TB menu.  I like the soft and the crunchy shells together...gives it a little sumthin extra~!  So, when I make tacos at home, I follow the same idea, just with far far far less calories and fat grams.

Take the tortilla and shell and nuke em for about 20 seconds.  Then, nuke a couple tablespoons of the ff beans.  Spread the heated beans onto the tortilla.  Wrap it around the crunchy taco shell, using the beans as the "glue" to hold them together.  I had to trim some of the tortilla off b/c it was bigger than the crunchy shell. Then, assemble the rest of your taco in whatever way your heart desires! 

Mine was...tortilla, beans, crunchy shell, cheese, meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, light sour cream, taco sauce.  YUM. 

Yummy goodness on a plate!  Mexican craving taken care of~!!!

Anyway you make em, tacos are good!

So, till next time....

Lots of Love,

Autumn

Autumn's Warm Honey Bun Protein Shake

Yum!!, right?!?!?!  Yes, as a matter of fact, it is~!  This one was inspired when I was watching Unwrapped on Food Network last night....it was about honey.  :-)

Anyhoo.  Nothing like a warm, gooey, sticky, cinnamony honey bun, right?  They taste mighty good, but aint so good for us....sigh...

This, however is!  Give it a shot, I bet you will like it!

Ingredients:
8 oz milk
1-2 tbsp imitation honey (I used 2)
1 scoop vanilla whey
1 tsp SF cinnamon syrup
1 tbsp SF vanilla syrup
1 tbsp SF vanilla pudding powder
1 tsp powdered butter flavoring
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Put it all in the blender.  Buzz for about 2 minutes.  Heat in microwave for 60 seconds.  Stir.  Top with whippage, a drizzle of SF honey, and a few chocolate sprinkles (just cuz it's cute)!

Enjoy!

It was quite nommy-ful, ya'll~!!!

Hope you try it.  Hope you like it~! 

Till next time...

Lots of Love,

Autumn

Autumn's Banana Prune Cheesecake Protein Smoothie....

Eh, um, what?!?!?!  I know, I can only imagine what your thoughts are as you just read that title.  I know, cuz I had the same thoughts as I was putting this together in my head AND when I was actually putting it together.  You see, I am having some....um, issues with my digestive system and when that happens, I just dont feel good.  I get pain in my chest, pain in my stomach, I dont feel like eating and frankly, I just feel miserable.  You that feeling you get when you dump?  The feeling that you just wanna curl up in a fetal position ball and sleep? That's how I feel when this happens...I am not sure what causes it or why it happens, but it does, so I just deal with it as best as I can.

Anyhoo, so..., on the way home from ZUMBA I stopped at the store to get some prune juice and dried pitted prunes (wanted to get some real fresh prunes, but WM didn't have any).  I had a few of the dried prunes and a few sips of the juice, and then I realized that I didn't eat much today and since I slept in till 11:00, I didn't have my morning protein coffee...therefore, I haven't had much protein today.  All of that combined gave me this...

Ingredients
4 oz milk
4 oz Sunsweet light prune juice
1 tbsp SF cheesecake pudding powder
1/2 banana
2 packs calorie free sweetener
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 dried pitted prunes
1 tbsp davinci SF banana syrup

 Put it all in the blender:

 Whiz it together for about 2 minutes....

 Top with a squirt of whippage and enjoy!

Isn't that mug SO adorable?!?!?  I scored that at the Dollar Tree today!!!

I know it might seem crazy....but its actually pretty good. 

Here's to hoping my eh-hum, "system"  will benefit from this protein smoothie in more than one way!

Till next time...

Lots of love,
Autumn

Autumn's Tropical Coconut Lime Protein Shake

Here's tonights shake.  Inspired by the fresh pineapple I sliced up today...

Okay, okay, so I cut up a nice juicy cantaloupe today too, but that isnt in THIS shake!  I am sure I'll find a way to use some in another shake this week.  I just like to keep the fresh fruit on hand for snacks at home and it's easy to pop into a small glad bowl for work...

LOOK at all that yumminess!

Ingredients:
8 oz milk
1/2 cup fresh pineapple chunks
2 tbsps SF davinci coconut syrup
1 tbsp SF line jello powder
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
4 ice cubes
3  packets no calorie sweetener

Add everything into the blender, except the ice, in whatever order your heart desires...

Blend for 2 minutes.  Add ice and blend until the ice is all broken up (you'll know when that is by the noise), probably another 2-3 minutes...

Pour into a glass, top with whippage and a chunk or two of fresh pineapple!

Aint it so perty-ful, ya'll?!?!?!

YUM!  I am taking my Tropical Coconut Lime Protein Shake and heading for bed.  Time to lay back, relax, and read a little--all while enjoying this glass of protein packed deliciousness! 

Hope you like it!

Till next time...

Lots of Love,

Autumn

Oh yeah! I made Nik's cake!!!! :-) Banana Butter-Rum Protein cake w/ Peanut Butter Frosting

I know ya'll seen it, didnt ya?  If you didn't check it out at...

http://bariatricfoodie.blogspot.com/2011/01/protein-banana-rum-cake-with-peanut.html

Doesn't it look heavenly??!?!?!  I just knew I had to try it the minute I saw her post.  So, I got in the kitchen today and had some fun!

I didnt change anything from Nik's version of the actual cake...why would I?  The woman is an uber-genius!  So for the ingredients, take a peek at her post...I did use sugar free banana pudding mix in the frosting, but only b/c I didnt have any SF vanilla pudding mix on hand and I added 2 tbsps of splenda to the icing as well.  Here's an ingredient pic for ya:

My cake makin-n-bakin experience went a lil sumthin like this..

The CAKE:

I mixed all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and set it to the side.

 Then, I combined all of the wet ingredients into my mixing bowl...

I beat the wet ingredients until well combined and then I slowly added the dry ingredients into the wet and mixed it all until it was well combined.

Yes, snapping a pic while mixing was tricky, but I managed!

Split the batter in half, filling two 9" round cake pans, about 3/4 of the way full.  I totally forgot to snap that pic, but you get the idea.  Popped them in the oven and baked them for 28-30 minutes.  When they came out they looked just like Nik's!!!!  Like this...

I was so excited when the cakes came out of the oven, I was literally jumping around in circles in the kitchen! :-)

I almost had a catastrophe on my hands...when they came out of the oven. I dont have any cake cooling racks, so I had to use regular plates.  I did the cold water trick (that really does work like a charm).  Then, I took the plate and put it onto the cake pan and did the flip-a-roo thing with the cake and got each layer out of the pans just fine.  The catastrophe happened when I waited a while before I flipped the cakes back over so they would be top side up....DO THAT IMMEDIATELY!  Otherwise, the moist warm top of the cake will stick to the plate....and that my friends, can be ugly! I managed to get mine unstuck with very little damage (using a very flat spatula and taking my very sweet time), but it coulda been way worse!! Wheeeeeeeeew!

The ICING.

Ah, the icing.  This was an experience, lemme tell ya.  LOL.  I dont know if I did something wrong or not, but in the end it all worked out so I'm good.  Allow me to explain... 

I put all of the ingredients into a glass bowl.  Again, I used SF banana pudding powder instead of SF vanilla.  Turned the mixer on low and began to mix it all together.  Before I knew it, the icing formed into a big sticky ball and wrapped itself all the way up and around the beaters.  My sister was here and she just laughed and asked me what the h#*l was I doing?  Then, when she turned and looked at it, she dared me to "take that pic and put it on the blog"...it looked a little um, inappropriate, if you will....and I wasnt about to do that...eh-uh, not happening... I digress...  So, anyway, I scrapped it all off the beaters and started to mix it some more... only to have the same thing happen again!!  Ugh.  So, again I scrapped it all off and at that point I was done with the mixer and the beaters!!  The icing was THICK.  I mean T-H-I-C-K.  Like almost not spreadable thick.  So, I added a splash more of milk to loosen it up a bit.  Nope, still thick.  Another splash of milk, still thick.  Ugh.  Then, I added a squirt of whippage and another splash of milk and that did the trick.  It was still thick, but at least it became workable and spreadable! 

Can you tell how thick it was...?  and this pic is AFTER I got it "loosened" up!!!

Anyway, moving on... gently spread some of the icing onto the bottom layer, covering it good....

Then, place the un-iced top layer onto the bottom layer and spread the remaining icing all around it, covering the top and the sides...

Wha-la!...Autumn's shot at making Nik's Protein Banana Rum Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting...

I was so proud, I had my sister snap a pic of me with the masterpiece!

I couldnt wait to cut into it and try it and again I started jumping around in circles in the kitchen!  My sister was here doing her laundry and she looked at me with the biggest eyes ever and said "OMG, go to your room!!!"  LOL.  We both laughed histerically...I havent been told to go to my room in like a good 15 years!  So, finally after all the jumping, twirling, and laughing, I got me a slice...

This piece was MORE than enough....literally, I couldnt finish it all...Nik was not playin when she said this cake is DENSE and FILLING, lemme tell ya!

So....time for the verdict...

It is good ya'll~! The cake itself has a very good flavor...and honestly reminds me more of banana bread rather than cake.  The icing is sweet and sticky and kinda has a lip-smackin pop to it! They work well together and compliment each other's flavor profiles for a nice yummy bite!  The best part, this can be used for a meal (for us)....it would be a GREAT breakfast believe it or not, because of the banana bread taste and texture it has...or as a dessert.  But, like Nik said and like I've already reinforced...this cake is DENSE....and FILLING.  It is LOADED with protein and it will keep you plenty full.  I had about 3/4 of that slice above around 3:00.  I stayed full until 8:00 and truthfully, I didnt really feel hungry at 8:00, I just knew I needed to eat something so I did. 

For me, there is still a TON of cake left.  So, I might take some over to my sister's house tomorrow for everyone to try. 

Now, of course, YOU must try this one!  Let us know how ur cake makin-n-bakin experience goes..

Till next time...

Lots of Love,

Autumn

English Pea Salad

I HEART the Food Network and the Food Network chefs!  All of em--Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, Sunny Anderson, Guy Fieri, Giada, Sandra, The Neelys, Anne Burrell, Bobby Flay etc, etc, etc.  I love to watch their shows and see all of the amazing things they do with food and then see how I can flip their ideas to be more bariatric friendly!  WIN! I even like to watch Food Network at the gym when I am feverishly trying to sweat my A*S off, as twisted as that may seem....it works for me.  :-)

This one, I got from Ms. Paula Deen (thank you, Ms. Paula!).  I was kinda unsure about it, but it was an easy one to make bariatric friendly, so I thought eh, what the heck, and I gave it a shot...all I had to do was make one minor change from her version and it's a win!  We all know (well if you don't know, you will now) that Paula LOVES her some full fat Mayo and as much butter as she can humanly possible use in any given dish...that might work for her, but not so much for us...<<<sigh>>>.

So of course in this recipe, she used the full fat mayo.  I, however, did not.  I used fat free mayo.  Works just same, tastes great, and is fine to have as part of any weight loss plan (especially in comparison).  You would be surprised (or, like me, disgusted) to see how quick the calories and fat can add up when you use regular mayo.  It ain't perty, ya'll.  It's just gross.  Ewe.

Moving on...so like I mentioned before, I was a wee bit hesitant about this one, but I went with it.  I am glad I did. It's fresh and crisp and lite and good.  :-)  It would be an EXCELLENT dish to take to gatherings!!!  No one would ever know it is WLS friendly, ever! Score!!!

Ingredients:
16 oz bag of fresh frozen peas, thawed
4 tbsps fat free mayo
3 tbsps lemon juice
3/4 cup shredded cheese
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped  (this is the part that kinda weirded me out, but it works well in the dish adds a bit of protein to the dish--cant go wrong there!)
1/2 cup bacon bits (I used 1/4 cup real bacon bits and 1/4 cup imitation bacon bits for the crunch)
S & P to taste

Okay, so the imitation bacon bits didnt make the picture, but they are in the dish, I promise!

You can't mess this one up...if you do, you should probly just stay out of the kitchen!  Mmm-kay, pumpkin?!?!?  ;-)  Luv ya much, muah!

Put the thawed peas into a bowl.  Add remaining ingredients....it'll look a lil sumthin like this.... 

Stir it all together and wha-la.   It's done.  Your final dish should look kinda sorta like this here...

Chill in the fridge for about an hour (minimum) before serving.

I used the imitation bacon bits thinking the dish would need some crunch.  While that did work, I was surprised to find that the fresh frozen peas have a nice crisp snap to them that offer a "crunch" like effect. WIN!

Give it a shot, I bet you'll be surprised. It's good.  I am definitely taking this dish to my next family and/or friend and/or work pitch-in/gathering!!!  :-)

Enjoy.

Till next time.

Lots of Love,
Autumn